Stay
by narutogoddess
Summary: A collection of oneshots for my wonderful OTP! She never expected him to leave her all alone. He promised he'd stay with her forever.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm not sure how far I'm going to get with this fic, but I've been wanting to try out some oneshots recently, so bear with me I guess. **

**Chapter 1**

**Grief**

The war was over. That's all anybody had on their minds these past few weeks. The losses were great, but none were in vain. Every life lost during the long battle was for the cause of bringing peace to the Five Great Nations and to defeat the formidable Akatsuki once and for all. Nobody expected most of what happened in that long, treacherous battle; Obito being Tobi, Kaguya being reanimated, Sasuke suddenly deciding that he was going to be Hokage, and all the other bumps in the road to peace. Yet, the most shocking thing that happened to the village of Konoha, was the loss of their very own Hyuga prodigy.

Loss was unavoidable during a time of battle, she knew that. She grew up with that statement being shoved down her throat by everybody she knew, more so from him than anybody else.

_"__Promise me you'll come back to me," she said to him the night before they were to leave for battle._

_ "__I can't do that," was all he said before rolling over in bed and taking her in his arms for what could be the last time._

That conversation played over and over in her mind for days, or was it weeks? She couldn't remember. She never in a million years thought that that would be one of their last exchanges of words.

Lee and Gai Sensei were over it…no, over it isn't the right words. They were done grieving and they've began to move on with their lives. Being forever handicapped and giving up his ninja career took grieving precedence over one of his students' passing over two months ago. Tenten wasn't as ready as everybody else. A part of her felt that moving on was another way to say 'forgetting', and she was not ready to forget the love of her life.

"Tenten!" Lee called from the porch to her cottage, "I know you're in there, open up!" This has been going on for days. Lee would stop by to check on her, but she refused to come to the door or even just call back to her friend so he'd know that she was still alive. It was almost pointless anyways, she definitely didn't feel alive. "Tenten, it'd been weeks, if you don't come to the door now I'm breaking it down!"

She knew he was serious, and she wasn't taking on any missions anytime soon, which meant she wouldn't have any money to fix a door her rambunctious teammate broke down. It took her a minute to drag herself out of bed and pull on some pants before she could make her way down the stairs to the front door.

The pounding on the front door kept going as she padded her way across her living room. Tenten took hold of the knob, then unlocked the chain that kept the world out. "What Lee..?" she said squinting at the sunlight pouring in from the outside world.

"You haven't been…" he stopped when he noticed the bags under her eyes. "Are you okay?" He forced himself into her house and shoved the door closed behind him.

"What do you want Lee?"

"I just wanted to make sure that you were okay…"

She stared up at her friend for what seemed like hours before finally answering, "Not particularly…"

Lee didn't completely know what to say. He knew that she was hurting, he hurt too, but there was something in Tenten's eyes that told him that there was something much more buried deep in her heart than just losing a best friend. He'd been around her long enough to know. He wasn't stupid, dense, but not stupid, he was one of the few people that could read her like a book. Just watching her mannerisms, he could tell that she hadn't showered in a few days, or eaten a proper meal. This wasn't a sign of sadness. She was depressed. In that moment, he knew.

"Tenten," he said quietly, "did you love him?"

That's when the tears fell. She didn't even realize that she had started crying until Lee gently brushed the water from her eyes. She thought she had used up all her tears. He grasped her slender shoulders and followed her collapse to the floor.

"Hey, it's okay," he tried to reassure, "maybe not now, but it will be, I promise."

"Y-you don't understand," she sobbed, "he promised me he'd stay! He promised!"

This didn't seem right to Lee. Neji wasn't one to tell somebody he'd promise to come back, especially with war staring them down. "What do you mean?" he asked.

She pulled away to collect herself enough to speak without choking on her words. "He promised me that after the war ended we'd…"

"That you'd what?"

_"__Neji, I need you to promise me you'll come back."_

_ "__I told you I can't do that," he replied without taking his eyes off the commander giving them their positions for the battle._

_ "__I know war is unpredictable, and I know it isn't fair of me to ask you to promise me, but I don't think I can give it my all if I don't hear you say it…I need to know that I have something to come back to."_

_ "__You always have something to come back to."_

_ "__Neji, you know that's not what I mean." She lowered her voice to a whisper so only he would hear, "I love you more than anything…I need to know that you-"_

_He cut her off, "Tenten, you know I love you."_

_ "__Let me finish. I need to know that you're not going to let yourself die for something as minimal as protecting the main family when they are all capable of winning their own battles."_

_ "__I'm going to do what I have to to protect my comrades, friends and family. You should do the same."_

_She took his hand and treaded her fingers through his. "I need you by my side."_

_Turning to face her he let his hand slip from hers slightly, running his thumb over her ring finger. "I'll stay."_

_ "__What?" Tenten was shocked at Neji's sudden cave._

_He stared into her eyes. "I can't promise that I'll come back, and neither can you. We can't predict the outcome of war. But I promise, if we both come back, I'll stay with you if you promise to stay with me…forever."_

_ "__What do you mean?" She already knew, but she wanted to hear him say it._

_ "__I-I'll marry you…I mean, if that's what you want…"_

_Seeing him flustered wasn't a common occurrence, but she loved knowing that her always stoic Neji had a soft side. "Is Neji Hyuga blushing?" she teased._

_ "__Shut up…just answer the question…"_

_ "__Yes. When we both get back, I'll marry you."_

**A/N: Don't forget to review! 3**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**I love you**

Plenty of time's she said it to him. Even before they admitted that they liked each other. She told him she loved him anytime she thought he needed to hear it. On missions when things got tough, "I love you." After he walked her home from a busy day of training, "see you tomorrow, I love you." Before the final rounds of the Chunin exams, "Good luck! I love you!" Then once when they were fifteen, before Naruto had even come back from training with Jiraiya…

They had just gotten back to the village after a long mission with just the two of them and the streets were empty. Of course that had to do with the ungodly hour of their return, but their silence was uncomfortable. He walked her home, as he usually did, whether it was the middle of the night or not. They arrived on the front porch of Tenten's apartment but she couldn't ease herself to go inside just yet.

"Hey…" she started, "I love you…"

"I know you do, you tell me almost every day."

"No, that's not what I mean."

He was confused, not because he all of a sudden thought that she had been lying every other time, but because he was a stupid teenage boy that didn't know how to tell if a girl liked him unless they basically screamed it in their face. "What are you-?"

She cut him off, and tried her best to avoid eye contact, "I'm _in _love with you Neji…"

"You're…oh…"

"I already know you don't feel the same way. It's okay Neji, I just thought you should know." She turned back to the door to her apartment that was wide open, ready for a needed escape, but he stopped her with a quick grab of her small wrist.

"That's not…" he stopped before he could finish his sentence, he didn't know exactly how to continue. Neji's never had to do this before. Rejecting was easy, he did it with fan girls all the time, but this was Tenten, his best friend. "It's not that I don't feel the same way…" he tried to go on, but stopped himself again in search for the exact right words. "It's just that…You're my best friend…"

"But you don't love me, I get it. It's not a big deal…" She was telling him the truth. She didn't expect mutual feelings between her and Neji ever. She just wanted him to know how she felt.

"I didn't say that…" She finally looked up to meet his eyes. He still had a firm grasp on her wrist and it wasn't like he was planning on letting go anytime soon.

"Neji, your uncle's going to be wondering where you are…" she spoke mostly just to fill the awkward silence and get him off her porch so she can sleep, and maybe cry to grieve away the sudden loss of bottled up feelings.

He ignored her remark and replaced it with, "I'm not supposed to be with anybody outside of my clan…"

Now that hurt. It wasn't the fact that Neji didn't love her back, or that her and Neji's relationship may never be the same again. She hurt for him, because deep down, she knew he reciprocated her feelings and there was nothing they could do about it. "Why?" It was the only thing she could get out.

"Because of the Byakugan…it's a dominant trait, but there's always the possibility of an offspring not getting it if…"

"Right..." It was silent again after that, even after Tenten had silently invited him into her apartment to get out of the cold temperature of night, but neither of them could get themselves to move out of the entryway. She finally broke the silence again by saying, "we don't have to tell anybody…"

He stared at her momentarily to look for any sign of a joke. "Why would you do that?"

"Because Neji, that's how much I want to be with you. I don't care if I can't tell my friends or my family. I don't care if I can't hold your hand in public…that's how much I love you." She would have kept going with excuses to back up her words so she'd convince him to stay if he hadn't shut her up by pressing his lips to hers. She was surprised at first, but she quickly got over that and kissed him back. When he finally pulled away the only thing she could say was, "you love me."

He pressed his lips into a firm line to keep himself from smirking. Because he did love her back. Not that he'd say it out loud anytime soon, but he did. He's known for a while, but kept his mouth shut for the same reason she had. He didn't know for sure if she felt the same way, and Neji had never been rejected before, it scared him. However, this wasn't rejection. This was mutual love that neither of them really knew what to do with at the moment, and they were determined to make it work.

**A/N: I'm sorry this one is short, I spent a good two hours re-reading the last paragraph and I just couldn't get it to go any further. But I hope you enjoyed anyways! Don't forget to review! I love hearing from my readers 3**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Pain**

Being raised from the dead was not an expected outcome for their friend after the war, but when he was brought back with Sasuke's newfound power of the Rinnengan, everybody was glad that it happened. Hinata had her cousin back, Gai had his student, the rookie nine had their friend, Lee had his rival, and Tenten had her boyfriend.

After the battle with Pain, when Nagato brought everybody back, everybody was fine. They were alive, and that was that. In Neji's case, the moment he was brought back, he began to die again, but this time there was Tsunade and Sakura there to heal the gaping holes in his torso. It wasn't enough. Sure, the wounds were heeled, leaving behind two jagged scars however, he was in constant pain. The bones and organs damaged during the impaling didn't heal as they should have. Like any sickness or great injury, there were good days and bad days in Neji's healing process.

The good days were amazing. Neji was his usual self, and Tenten loved those days. She could go on dates with him, train with him (as long as they took it easy), spent the nights wrapped up in passion; everything was as it was before the war.

The bad days weren't just bad, they were complete torture for both Tenten and Neji. She didn't know what to do when he was up all night coughing up blood or throwing up from the pain. She did everything she could to make him feel better. She got him water, gave him pain pills, held him, and used her amateur medical skills to try and take some of the pain away, nothing worked. She didn't know what to do anymore. Lady Tsunade tried everything she could to speed up the recovery process, but in the end, she decided that the only thing that would work is time.

"We don't have time!" Tenten would say, "How's he supposed to go on missions or train when he can hardly breathe on days like these!"

"He's not," Tsunade would reply. "We've talked about this Tenten. Injuries like these take time. Are you forgetting that he _died_? Being brought back in itself is a great ware on the body, now add to that that he almost died again after. On the outside, he's healed. But his bones are still brittle and his organs are struggling to stay in one piece. There's nothing more we can do. He's already in the hospital every week to heal what continues to deteriorate, and the hope is that eventually everything will stay whole."

"I can't stand him to see him like this anymore."

"I know its hard Tenten, and you're doing such a good job keeping it together. It's okay to breakdown every once in a while."

"I don't have room for a breakdown." She did. She already had multiple times with Hinata or Lee. They were the only ones other than her that understood what was going on.

Tenten stormed out of the hospital without hearing what else Tsunade had to say. She passed Sakura in the hallway who chased after her and pulled her back before she could leave the hospital completely.

"Tenten, I'm talking to you," she scolded.

"I'm not really in the mood to talk right now Sakura…"

"I know, just give me a few minutes okay?"

Tenten sighed and turned to face the pinkette. "What?"

"Lee told me what's been going on."

"So? It's not like anybody can do anything about it…I've tried, you and Tsunade have tried…nothing works."

"At least he's alive."

"Hardly…"

Sakura lead Tenten down a corridor and into a conference room where she then closed the door for some privacy. "I know it's hard seeing the one you love the most in so much pain. You try everything you can think of and nothing can help them get better. At least in Neji's case everything is physical, it can heal over time and once he's back to 100%, everything will seem silly that you spent so much time worrying."

"This isn't anything like that. You weren't there when Sasuke was at his worst. I have to watch Neji couch up blood every night and go to bed worrying if he's going to wake up in the morning."

Sakura sighed, "Every night I go to bed wondering if Sasuke's okay. He's still trying to find himself, I know that he's strong and can take care of himself, but I still wonder how he can defend himself with only one arm? I don't know when he's ever going to come back, if he does at all. I know how you feel Tenten, you're not alone. And, at least you get to see him and that there _are_ good days."

She nodded.

"Today must be a good day if you're here and not with him. So what are you doing wasting your time arguing with Lady Tsunade and I when you could be with Neji without having to take care of him?"

"He's with Lee today…he's giving me a break."

Sakura gave a half-smile, "so take advantage of that. Let yourself get through a day without having to worry about him."

Tenten kicked up the gravel as she dragged herself back towards the Hyuga manor. She's been spending most of her time there since they all came back from the war. She had only been back at her apartment maybe four times since, but it didn't feel like home there anymore.

If Neji's bad days weren't so random, maybe she'd be less upset? Like, if there were signs leading up to them instead of having to find out by waking up to find him with blood dripping down his chin, or worse…

Stopping at the entrance when she felt a hand weave their fingers through hers, she smiled to herself. "How's Lee?"

"Fine," he replied.

"And you?"

"Also fine."

She looked up to meet his eyes. She must have had an uneasy expression because he rolled his eyes.

"Stop worrying so much Tenten. It's only going to make you crazy."

"Too late for that…"

He gave her hand a squeeze, then dragged her around to corner to the road that the mansion was located at. "It's fine. I'm fine. There's nothing you can do to make it any better. What you've been doing to plenty."

"It doesn't feel like it…"

Neji stopped in front of her and took a gentle hold on her chin, forcing her to look up at him. "When was the last time there was a bad day?"

"A while ago…" she averted her gaze.

"Exactly. So maybe they're done. Don't spend extra days worrying about me when you know that you don't have to."

"I can't help it…"

He kissed her gently. When he pulled away he said, "That's because you love me."

She mimicked his cocky raise of his eyebrow and replied, "Sometimes."

"All the time."

They continued to walk through the courtyard of the Hyuga compound until they reached their wing and went inside. The kicked off their shoes and took a seat on the couch in their living room. Tenten pulled her knees up and pressed herself against Neji's chest and listened to his beating heart.

Sakura's words rang through her mind, _"as least he's alive."_

Yes. At least he was alive. Even with all the suffering they've been through, as least he was still here with her, because she didn't know what she would do if he wasn't. She didn't want to know. She just wanted to be with him, and as long as he let her, that's what she'll continue to do.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Sex**

It was a fine afternoon in the middle of June. The birds were chirping, there was a slight breeze that made the ever growing heat bearable, and above all else, Hinata, Sakura, Temari, and Ino all had a day off. They girls had gotten together for lunch, to catch up on what was going on in their lives, and gossip about those who weren't around.

"It's just like Tenten to ditch us when we all have a day off," Ino complained.

"Give her a break," Temari defended, "So she wants to spend her day with Neji, who cares?"

"I do! I miss her!"

"We all do," Sakura said, "but I get it…she wants to see her boyfriend."

Ino sighed, loudly, "She sees him every day! They're on the same team! They only go on missions together!"

"But missions are work," Temari told her, "and seeing your boyfriend at home is way different than seeing him while on a job."

"I guess you're right." Ino gave up, "but I was looking forward to seeing her."

Hinata was quiet in the corner of the booth they were in. She was hoping to see Tenten today as well, but not for the same reasons as her other friends. She had many questions for the weapons mistress that the other girls probably couldn't answer, and if they could, they'd make her feel weird about it.

"You're awfully quiet today future Mrs. Uzumaki," Ino giggled at her own joke, "trouble in paradise?"

Hinata blushed. She and Naruto were not engaged…yet, but Ino and probably everyone else in the village was convinced that it was going to happen soon. Sometimes she wondered if her friends knew something she didn't.

"No, I'm fine," she answered, "just a little tired is all."

Ino wiggled her eyebrows and teased, "oooh! Naruto keep you up all night?"

"N-no…" Hinata blushed again, knowing full well what Ino was referring to.

Sakura laughed, "it's okay Hinata, you don't need to be ashamed. It's what girls do, we talk about that stuff. We've all done it."

Hinata looked down. Ashamed, and embarrassed that she was the only one that hasn't done it yet.

Temari was the first to realize her hesitation to continue to conversation, "Wait…you and Naruto _have_ done it…right?"

Hinata looked away again.

"What!?" Ino yelled, "seriously!?"

"We were waiting for the right time," she tried to defend herself.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Temari agreed, "but if you don't mind my asking, why have you waiting this long? You and Naruto have been together for years, I'm sure that time would have happened by now, what's stopped you?"

Hinata hesitated to answer. She just wanted to talk to Tenten…not the other girls. Tenten wouldn't ask her all these questions. "I don't know how," she finally said.

Sakura and Ino laughed, then the pinkette reassured, "don't worry about Hinata, nobody knows how to at first. It's okay."

"Sorry, but I really just want to talk to Tenten about this…" Hinata mumbled.

The other girls laughed again, "why? It's not like she's going to be an expert…Neji's a prude."

Hinata had to laugh at their inaccurate assumption.

"What?" Ino questioned, "why's that funny."

"Neji's room is right down the hall from mine…their not exactly quiet and the walls aren't sound proof." She rolled her eyes, irritated with the entirety of the situation.

They stared at the Hyuga girl in disbelief.

"Go Neji." Ino raised her eyebrows, shocked.

"It can't be that often though," Sakura tried to get over her initial shock, "they're, like, always busy on missions and stuff. How do they even have time?"

"Trust me, they have time," Hinata yawned.

"So that's why you're so tired," Temari teased.

"Gross," said Sakura.

They were quiet while they waited for their food to arrive at the table until someone said, "Hey guys, sorry I'm late." They all looked up to see Tenten slide into the booth.

"We thought you weren't coming," Ino glared.

"Yeah, because you wanted to see your boyfriend," Sakura added.

She waved them off, "I see Neji all the time. I can spend one day away from him."

"Then why are you late?" Temari asked.

"Because he wouldn't let me leave," Tenten expressed her annoyance by pulling down her collar to reveal a fresh love bite.

"Sounds like Neji needs to relax a little," Ino stared. "Hinata needs to sleep sometime."

Tenten stared at the blond in disbelief, then to Hinata. The look in Hinata's eyes told her that Ino's statement was true. She could feel her cheeks heating up, "Oh my god, Hinata I'm so sorry!" She was only a little ashamed, she didn't get embarrassed about this stuff…her and Neji have done it in some pretty strange, pretty public places and have been caught by many different people. But she did feel bad.

"Can we talk?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, of course," Tenten replied following Hinata out of the restaurant and down the street to the park. They took a seat on a bench away from the ears of curious children.

Tenten was ready to apologize and beg for forgiveness for being so selfish and not thinking of the people around them while she and Neji were together. "I'm so sorry Hinata, I'll tell Neji to cool it."

"No, you don't have to do that. I don't even notice it anymore to be honest."

"Oh," Tenten sat back, "then what's up?"

"Does it hurt?"

"What do you mean?" She asked confused, then she understood, "sex?"

Hinata nodded.

"So you and Naruto still haven't…?"

"No, we haven't…but I want to, and he wants to. I just don't know how."

Tenten smiled softly. "That's okay, Hinata."

Hinata waited for Tenten to say something along the lines of, 'nobody knows how to at first,' but she didn't say that.

"To be honest, it's weird at first. It's awkward and dirty and doesn't really feel that good. There's a lot of fumbling around and trying to figure out what each other likes, but once you get over all that, which might take a few times, it's nice. Have you and Naruto talked about it at all?"

Hinata nodded, "yeah, a few times. For a while we were going to wait until we got married, but then we decided that that was stupid, because we love each other. We almost did it a few times, but I chickened out. Then we tried planning it out and that didn't work…"

Tenten grinned, "no, planning it doesn't work…even now, if Neji and try to plan it, it's not the same. It's gotta be an in the moment thing. Why did you chicken out? Did it not feel like the right time for you?"

"No, they all felt like the right time. I just got scared."

"I'd tell you to just get over it, but that wouldn't help because sex is a big step in a relationship. It's not just a do it and get it over with kind of thing for most people, especially for girls, because we usually want more. Like I said, the first time sucks, but I love Neji and I'm glad our first time was with each other, because we were able to grow together and discover so much more about each other through that intimacy. Sex strengthened our relationship romantically, and on the battle field believe it or not. We're able to read each other better, we always know what the other's thinking and it's just nice to feel that close to someone when I wake up from a nightmare."

Hinata smiled. She loves Naruto just as much as Tenten loves Neji, and she wants to share those exact things with the one she loves.

"I hope that helps a little," Tenten said standing up to stretch.

"Yeah, it does. Thank you Tenten."

We should probably go back and pay for our food," Tenten giggled. "Oh and, one more thing. It's okay to be scared. Naruto will take care of you. He loves you."

Yes. Naruto loves Hinata, and she loves him. And Hinata was no longer scared to take that next step in their relationship.


End file.
